


Stay

by Konoto



Series: Ironpanther prompts [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Couldn't say goodbye to the arc reactor tho, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, ironpanther
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-27 16:11:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7625218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Konoto/pseuds/Konoto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A request for a prompt that has person A asking/making person B promise they won’t leave… Or something like that.</p><p>So, this took longer than I expected since I was on vacation and with no inspiration whatsoever, sorry for the delay. Might as well start opening requests for prompts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stay

Tony should’ve seen it coming, he should’ve assumed things couldn’t just go smooth and easy and as good as they have had the last few days, it was impossible, Tony knew things could be good for so long before they went downhill. Tony just never expected that to happen while sleeping, in a calm winter night as he was curled up in his lover’s arms and all warm under the several blankets.

His nightmares didn’t start full blown, they always seemed to seep through his dreams, like a snake slowly approaching their prey, always looming in the back of his head, just waiting for a chance to break through. His dreams weren’t exactly frivolous, for a rich guy with a suit of armor that could fly at the speed of sound effortlessly, sure some were eccentric but most of the time they were about silly things, projects that defied laws of physics and science, or like that time when he dreamed he had suddenly found himself a crazy cat lady with fifty cats, all having oddly colored fur made of cotton candy, he had woken up laughing that time.

But this was by no means one of those happy dreams. One second he was fixing his armor in his lab, some every day thing, before Tony looked up and saw that the place he was in wasn’t his lab but the cave, that filthy, dark cave in Afghanistan he was still terrified of and suddenly a couple of masked men grabbed him by the arms and there were voices yelling all around him, talking in languages he couldn’t understand, yelling at him, calling his name, yelling on his face. Tony could already feel the panic constricting his chest, there was pain spreading around, growing every time he tried to breathe and when he looked down he could see deep, dark red blooming through the fabric of his shirt.

There wasn’t much time for him to reason further than his mind going into blind panic as the two men that grabbed him, pushed him down into a makeshift stretcher and soon enough there were more hands on his wrists, arms, shoulders and legs, holding him down and no, no, no, this couldn’t be happening again, not again!

“Everything will be okay, Stark” he could see Yinsen’s face above him, looking down at him through his glasses with a little smile, there was a bloodstain on his cheek, but even that couldn’t help to ease Tony’s wild fear.

“Breathe, easy… Easy”.

There was a hand cradling the back of his head. There was a hand cupping his jaw, forcing him to turn his head to the side. And why couldn’t he move?

“Oh, Tony… It’s beautiful”.

Wide, fear-filled eyes looked up only to see that Yinsen was gone and in his place there was Stane, looking at him with those cold eyes and that grin on his mouth; there was a blue light illuminating his features, making his eyes shine with madness.

“This is your ninth symphony… What a masterpiece, look at that” Stane said as he held up the arc reactor in his hand, the blue light almost blinding in the darkness of the cave and Tony could feel the sharp pain growing in his chest as the pieces shrapnel started to make their way into his heart. “This is your legacy”.

Tony watched as Obadiah got off and started to walk away, leaving him there to die. He couldn’t move and every time he tried to breathe the pain became worse and worse. He stared at the ceiling as it started to chance slowly, the rocks started to give way, forming a whole that grew rapidly and soon enough he was staring into endless space.

“Tony… Tony”

There were screams, dull, as if he were trying to hear underwater, and those terrified cries, screams of despair and he wished they’d just stop… until he realized they were coming from his own throat.

“Tony!”

Tony’s eyes snapped open, warm arms wrapped around him, pulling him against a warm, broad chest and for a moment he didn’t recognize the man, he desperately tried to break free, pushing and punching and kicking with all the strength he could gather, the phantom of pain still lingering under his skin, fogging his mind.

With all the squirming, Tony ended slipping of the side of the bed, falling heavily on the floor, it wasn’t until the lights were turned on that he noticed he wasn’t in the cave, that there wasn’t a giant wormhole opening through the ceiling and pouring down on earth, there was no Obadiah Stane there; Tony gasped in panic and looked down to his chest, one of his hands coming up and touching the arc reactor, functioning and in its place in his chest. The walls of the room were not rocky but smooth, painted with a warm color, there was a big window to the side that allowed the beautiful Wakandan jungle to be seen, partially hidden by the darkness of the night and only illuminated with the moon’s soft glow.

“Tony”.

Tony’s eyes looked up at the source of the voice and found a pair of dark eyes that looked at him with concern, worry settled deep within them. 

“May I touch you?” the low tone of the other man’s voice drew Tony’s attention and he gave a jerky nod.

T’Challa approached slow and calm, getting down from the bed and helping Tony to get up off the floor; warm, gentle hands holding Tony’s arm while wrapping his free limb around Tony’s waist, guiding him to sit on the bed, supporting his weight when Tony’s legs shook. The King helped him to get on the bed, climbing on it himself. T’Challa moved slowly, making sure to touch Tony at all times, even if it was his hand on the brunet’s hand, his hand on Tony’s back or on his shoulder, a brush of skin, anything to anchor Tony, to give him something to hold onto, something that reminded him that he was safe, that he was home. T’Challa waited a few more moments, wanting to give Tony a bit of time for his mind to settle back into reality, then he moved and wrapped his arms around his lover’s waist, pulling him closer until Tony was securely pressed against his chest, the place he belonged.

“Intanda” the word was spoken in a soft voice as T’Challa pressed a kiss against Tony’s forehead, smiling when Tony snuggled up to him.

They didn’t talk but that was okay; T’Challa never pressured Tony to talk about his nightmares, he knew that in due time, and if Tony needed to, he would speak and T’Challa would be there to listen, and Tony did the safe for him. They offered each other silent support. Neither of them moved for long minutes; the king rubbed Tony’s back slowly, occasionally pressing soft kisses on his hair and temples and cheeks as Tony slowly calmed down, and when T’Challa though the man was better, he started to pull away, moving his arms from around Tony to sit up only to be stopped by a shaky hand gripping his arm and upon turning he saw Toy looking at him with despair.

“Don’t go, please” it was how badly Tony’s voice cracked that had T’Challa’s heart breaking a little bit.

“I was just getting you some water” T’Challa tried to explain but moved to take back his place when Tony tugged him closer, giving up on his search for water and instead he wrapped his arms back around his lover, squeezing him against his chest, mindful of the arch reactor, knowing he could hurt the man if he squeezed him too hard.

“Please, please… Don’t leave me” Tony’s voice was slightly muffled against T’Challa’s shirt; it wasn’t the first time Tony asked him to stay and no matter how many times the man asked him, T’Challa’s answer would always be the same. “Stay” the fear and despair lingering in his eyes and in his voice made T’Challa’s heart ache for him; he knew Tony had lost, he had lost so much, so many people, so many people had left him, given him their backs, he knew how it felt like.

“I won’t leave” T’Challa reassured him as he cupped his face.

“Promise me… Please”.

T’Challa knew such promise was impossible. He wished he would never have to leave Tony, but between his responsibilities with his people and as a King, and Tony’s own with his company and with the accords, it was impossible to be together at all times. But T’Challa also knew that right then Tony’s mind was still clouded by fear and he needed him, he needed reassurance, and he gave it to him.

“I promise, intliziyo yam” T’Challa said, looking right into Tony’s eyes “Ndiyathembisa, Andiyi kukha ndikushiye”. He took Tony’s tiny smile as a sign of acceptance, and he held him until Tony fell asleep.

Even if they couldn’t be together, physically, all the time, T’Challa was always a phone call away, Tony knew he could call or make a video call at any given time, day or night. That he promised.

**Author's Note:**

> I took the same language Marvel took as the Wakandan official language, any mistakes are google translator's fault.
> 
> [My tumblr](http://konoto.tumblr.com/)


End file.
